Emily Fort

Co-Founder

Emily Fort is a climate science program leader and data governance expert with 20+ years of experience who specializes in building collaborative research networks and enterprise-scale data systems that advance scientific impact.

As co-founder of Rooted Waters Consulting, Emily brings extensive experience managing complex climate adaptation and environmental research programs. Most recently, she served as Deputy Senior Administrator of the U.S. Geological Survey's National Climate Adaptation Science Center, where she directed operations for a $63M research program spanning nine regional centers. She built the CASC network's data governance infrastructure from the ground up, delivering a first-of-its-kind data management system to govern petabytes of climate and environmental data across hundreds of datasets from diverse scientific disciplines.

Emily excels at fostering collaboration across federal agencies, academic institutions, Tribal Nations, and nonprofit organizations. At the Office of Management and Budget, she launched the MAX Federal Community and developed the first digital authoring platform for the President's Budget—transforming how federal agencies collaborate on critical initiatives. At the National Science Foundation, she managed data systems supporting research investments across scientific disciplines.

Her expertise spans scientific data management, metadata standards, research program operations, and stakeholder engagement. She has designed governance frameworks, peer review processes, and knowledge-sharing platforms that strengthen transparency and enable data-driven decision-making for climate resilience and sustainability initiatives. Emily applies agile methodologies and technical fluency to build scalable workflows that connect researchers, policymakers, and practitioners. She partners with mission-driven organizations to translate complex climate science into actionable strategy.